In the dimly lit interrogation room, Ronan sat before Natasha, her cold eyes almost piercing his skin as he too stared back intently.
-STOMP
It wasn't long until Natasha shot to her feet, grabbing the device that indicated Ronan wasn't a Mutant.
Without wasting a second, she left the room as she was instructed. And when she did, Ronan snapped into action.
'Now!'
Closing his eyes, he focused on this new sense that came with his Technopathy.
He felt the large Helicarrier they were on, he'd felt it for a while, the same sensation he'd gotten from all other tech only far advanced.
'But not as good as the Tower.'
-ZMMM
Ronan opened his eyes as he found himself in a familiar realm.
However, this time, unlike the Tower, Ronan stood before an endless wall that hummed every so often as if it were alive, seemingly having no end to it.
'This is the Helicarrier's mainframe. It isn't as advanced as the Tower, but I need to act stealthily to not draw suspicion.'
Perhaps Ronan from when he first arrived in this world might have struggled with this task, however, a lot had changed in the past 3 days.
More specifically…
[Technopathy Mastery: 7.2%]
Ronan found that not only did learning to unconsciously push back that Technobane work to increase his mastery, but even doing it consciously would benefit him also, meaning his Technopathy was improving 24/7.
Additionally…
[Psionics Mastery: 4%]
'Maybe that's the reason I was able to lie so well.'
Ronan knew he didn't have many tells and was only contorting the truth a little, but even he was surprised with how perfect his act was.
Because of these new stats, Ronan pressed his hand on the wall, his body growing more translucent as the seconds passed.
Usually, for regular hackers, they'd have to break through tough encryptions to enter SHIELD's systems which would take time.
However, for Ronan, the same code that constructed the wall before him appeared scrolling through his eyes until…
-VUAM
Ronan's hand phased through, contrary to the ZAP of electricity he knew all too well from experience.
'Decrypting is becoming a lot easier. I wish it was this simple in the Tower.'
Passing through, Ronan found himself in an expansive and complicated scene, thin strands of green light holding countless cubicles of what Ronan knew was information.
He took a second to familiarise himself with his surroundings.
He needed to make sure he was hidden, as evidenced by his translucent body.
He needed to make sure he was covering his tracks, unlike last time in the tower, but thankfully as his perk improved, he naturally became accustomed to these things.
And knowing he was in the clear, he slowly soared through the space.
He was only looking for one or two specific things.
Anything else was a bonus that might help him in his future plans, therefore, there was no need to be risky and delve too deep.
As information carefully poured into his mind, he was quickly surprised to find SHIELD was far less reserved than Tony Stark.
They only ever abandoned projects if it were literally impossible, otherwise they kept going with anything and everything.
Hell, they were currently in the process of researching Time Travel and Mass Amnesia technology.
But one thing stood out to Ronan.
Items SHIELD currently had in store on the Helicarrier.
-CREAK
Though a few minutes had passed for Ronan in the Tech Realm, the sixty-second mark wasn't even reached in the real world when the sound of the door rang out in the quiet room.
"I have to say, even in my line of work, it's not every day I see a child with your capabilities."
A familiar gruff and authoritative voice walked in the room, before Ronan as the boy calmly opened his eyes.
He was instantly met with a tall bulky bald man wearing a black trenchcoat, dark-skinned as he fashioned an eyepatch on his left eye.
"Nick Fury," Ronan spoke as Fury glared at him, taking a seat where Natasha once sat.
"I'm not going to waste any time since you've seen through our first ploy. You have two choices, Kid."
"The first: I can send you to the deepest and darkest dungeons known to man. You'll disappear and no one will ever hear from you again."
Fury raised a single finger, glaring at Ronan as his tone showed no signs of lying.
"Stark wasn't wrong about you." Ronan scoffed. However, hearing this, Fury's eyebrows furrowed.
"Don't give me that shit. 23 Agents. Excluding the single Hydra member, you killed 23 good men and women. All of which had families and loved ones to go back home to."
"Did you think we'd sympathise with you because you were a child? Think again."
Ronan stared as his mind responded right after.
'I…didn't have many other choices.'
However, upon thinking this, Ronan couldn't help but pause, recalling the moment and what his exact reasoning was.
He soon dismissed it as it wasn't his primary focus, however, he was sure his actions were justified.
But though he thought this, he spoke differently, keeping up his act.
"It was an accident."
Fury tilted his head.
"Really? It doesn't seem like it."
"Would it make any difference if I were to cry and express my guilt that way?"
It didn't even take a second for Fury to reply with a stern, "No."
"But I'm willing to allow you to make up for your sins. Your second choice is to put your talents to good use. Become an Agent of Shield."
Ronan kept his expression straight, his emotions just as blank.
This was because he was expecting this.
From what he understood about SHIELD after the Tower and his little scour of their mainframe, he concluded.
SHIELD simply stopped threats to somehow find a way to make it their own threat.
To an extent, Ronan could understand this. After all, in a world where literal Gods could turn on them, as lowly humans, they had to use every card in their arsenal.
But because of this, they walked a grey line between good and evil.
'In the end, I can't blame them. I'm planning to do something similar after all.'
"If I know anything about Hydra, it's that they won't let this slide easily. They'll be coming after you. But with us, they'll think twice."
Ronan nodded at this assumption.
He was expecting something like that, but he was hoping to have left this world before they could get their revenge.
"I'll do it."
And for now, Ronan understood he needed to play the dancing monkey.
"I will become an Agent."
Fury didn't show any signs of satisfaction as he rose to his feet, tightening his trench coat at the collar, the door opening with a CREAK as two agents walked in.
"Agent Taylor and Swift will escort you and assess your skills."
Fury introduced the two who stood up straight, one with a ponytail and the other with soft blonde hair.
As Fury walked to the door, he turned around one last time as he spoke.
"I hope you can redeem yourself. Because for what you've done, it won't be easy."
With this, Fury left the room.
***
Ronan was escorted through a sleek hallway adorned with straight silver metal.
With handcuffs that glowed around his wrists behind his back, the boy had two agents walking beside him.
'Redeem myself?'
How bad of a person did they see him as?
He understood what he did was…bad, but to him…
'Whatever. They just don't understand my side of it.'
These were only distracting thoughts Ronan was having.
No, in reality, with his eyes closed, he was somewhere else entirely.
'Does he have his eyes closed?'
The Blonde Agent, Swift, asked himself, glancing at Ronan from the corner of his eyes.
'A little more.'
-THUD
Ronan bumped into the second ponytailed Agent, Taylor, causing the latter to stumble.
"Watch where you're going…" Taylor spoke in a low and annoyed tone, trying his best to keep his professionalism, knowing there were cameras everywhere.
But he paused as he witnessed Ronan's eyes closed.
"Hey, let's go." Swift went to grab Ronan, but the boy snapped his eyes open as he leapt back, raising his head as he glared with his bright green eyes.
"Make me, asshole."
***
In a sleek, spacious modern facility with expansive glass windows, advanced technology lined the walls, with multiple screens showcasing live feeds.
At the central command station, the sound of the countless agent's footsteps filled the air as they moved efficiently, all under Nick Fury's watchful eye.
The latter stood at the forefront, before large windows that offered a panoramic view.
"Director Fury."
An Agent who sat and bashed the keyboard to his monitor turned in his chair as he called out, seemingly confused.
"What is it?" Fury asked, keeping his eyes on the window, seeming as though he was deep in thought.
"Well…an unauthorised jet is preparing to take off."
Fury turned as he narrowed his eyes.
***
"What? Do you know the kind of position you're in…"
As Agent Swift spoke, Taylor raised his hand, blocking the man with an expression contorted in controlled rage.
"I had a few good friends on that Aircraft that night. I had to break the news to some of their wives and children."
Ronan's expression remained indifferent, further infuriating Taylor.
"I was hoping you'd give me a reason to beat the…"
-CRASH!!!
Before he could finish, what looked like a jet diagonally crashed into the Helicarrier, exactly where they were standing as the front end practically sliced through the two before they could even process what happened.
And with another CRASH, the Jet came to a halt as it was halfway lodged in the wall, its wingspan far longer than the length of the hallway.
Because of this, it tore through the metal, leaving behind a terrifying gash on the ceiling and ground.
However, most notably, there was no one in the cockpit of the Jet.
'It starts now.'
Ronan, long having turned around, rubbed his wrists and the handcuffs dropped to the ground with a CLANK.
'If you think my past acts were bad, I'll be interested in what you'll think of me after today.'